Clemson dominates in second half, beats UVa., 60-48

Guards Andre Young and Tanner Smith each scored 13 points, and forward/center Devin Booker had 10 points to lead Clemson to a 60-48 victory over Virginia Tuesday night (Feb. 14) in an Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball game at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Junior guard Jontel Evans scored a game-high 17 points to lead UVa and senior forward Mike Scott added 13 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers. Evans’ 17 points tied his career high.

The victory improves Clemson’s overall record to 13-12 and the Tigers are now 5-6 in the ACC.

The loss drops Virginia’s overall record to 19-6 and the Cavaliers are 6-5 in the ACC. After losing at North Carolina last Saturday (Feb. 11), the loss to Clemson marks the first time this season UVa has lost consecutive games.

In this week’s national rankings, Virginia is ranked 22nd in both The Associated Press poll and the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll.

After the score was tied 24-24 at halftime, UVa led twice in the second half. The Cavaliers final lead was 28-27 with 18:19 left to play after a basket by freshman guard Malcolm Brogdon.

Virginia trailed by only three points (44-41) with 8:03 left in the game, but Clemson then scored eight consecutive points to take control of the game. Booker scored four points in the Tigers’ run that gave Clemson a 52-41 lead with 2:54 remaining. UVa got no closer than eight points the rest of the way.

The Cavaliers were hampered by 18 turnovers in the game that led to 19 Clemson points.

Brogdon made his first start for Virginia and scored nine points. Brogdon started in place of sophomore guard Joe Harris who has a fractured bone in his left hand. Harris played 21 minutes off the UVa bench and had two points and two rebounds.

Virginia shot 50 percent (22-44) from the field, including 18.8 percent (3-16) from three-point range, and UVa made its only free throw. The Cavaliers out-rebounded the Tigers 28-23.

Clemson shot 46.0 percent (23-50) from the field, including 33.3 percent (5-15) from three-point range, and 69.2 percent (9-13) from the free-throw line. The Tigers had 14 steals and just nine turnovers in the game.

Virginia returns to action on Saturday (Feb. 18) when the Cavaliers host Maryland at John Paul Jones Arena. That game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. and will be televised by the ACC Network.